Key West, Florida
Nov. 22nd - 27th, 2000
November 22nd - My fault that we got a late start. I had more to do than anticipated, so it was afternoon before we could even start towards our meeting spot. Then, I forgot my key to the bike so I had to go back home. Result, another 30 minute delay. Finally, about 1:30 P.M., we were under way. Temp. was roughly 37 degrees. A little construction traffic in Knoxville slowed us for several minutes. I-75 South was a little congested. Tom Holliday (AKA "DOC") showed us a shortcut around Chattanooga that saved us a lot of time and avoided more congestion. I began to realize we were making good time now but my experience also warned me that we were making a bee line for Atlanta and should get there just as everyone was trying to get out of town. Still North of Atlanta, we could see the North bound traffic was backed up for miles. We whizzed straight through town on I-75 with little restriction and even got a mile or two past the I-275 Loop on the South end of town. But alas, we caught up with all the departing Holiday travelers. We set for over a hour in traffic. To the point of where both Silas and his Harley needed a breather. We pulled off the Interstate in Morrow, GA. A few minutes of cooling off at a Convenient store netted the decision to call it a night. No use in sitting in traffic when we could be getting some sleep. Besides,day 2 promised warmer temps. We stayed at "Sun Suites" which is in Marrow, Ga. Phone 770-603-9700. This was the best room for the money on the whole trip. Cable TV, Apartment qualities for $40 per night. If you leave Knoxville on Friday evening Southbound with the attitude to make it "South of Atlanta", I would suggest you stay at this place. There is a Steakhouse across the street.
November 23rd (Thanksgiving Day) - I-75 had little traffic on this day. It allowed for us to cover some distance and head for warmer temps. I estimate we traveled nearly 600 miles this day, stopping at Port Charlotte Florida for the night. Two things happened today that were important. My original plan was to drop off I-75 up around Lake City and drift down through the Florida "Spring" country along the back roads however, I was out voted on that idea. Visions of Key West were in the minds of my companions. I too had dreams of Key West but think we should have taken more time off because of the distance. Key West..........HERE WE COME! That night we had dinner at Cracker Barrel who offered a great Turkey Dinner with desert for $8. We were full and content. We stayed at Hampton INN, Port Charlotte, FL. 941-627-5600. They were very accommodating but a little pricey. ($75 for a single.) They did let us park our bikes under their canopy which was in clear view of the front desk. "Dee" is pretty easy on the eyes. She was there when we checked in and when we checked out.
November 24th - First stop is at the Harley dealership in Ft. Myers, FL. The air filter
on my bike broke yesterday, where the air filter cover retaining nut welds to the
filter housing. This did not disable the bike but was allowing raw air directly into the
engine. A new filter and about 2 minutes of installation time fixed the problem. Maybe
that's what I get for running a aftermarket air filter. Then, another incident which could
have ended in disaster. At about 75 MPH, I began to hear a clicking sound but could not
determine the cause. Suddenly, the chaps I was wearing began to unzip themselves up my
right leg. Apparently, the wind had caused the zipper pull tab to flap to a point of
breaking. (Large Tab, flimsy attachment to the zipper.) Before I realized what was
happening, the leg came unzipped, unsnapped and was free flying in the wind in the general
area of my rear wheel, still spinning at 75 MPH. I gathered the leather up in my lap. The
other guys, riding behind me, did not really see what had happened but DOC said he saw
something fly off my bike that looked like a watch. That was my bike key, lost forever. I
guess they would still be picking up pieces had the leather gotten tangled in the wheel.
We traveled across Alligator Alley after getting numerous suggestions to avoid the Tamiami
Trail because of it's rough surface. Exit #13 South on Rt. 997 through downtown Homestead
and then South on Rt. 1 towards Key West. We under estimated the mileage down there by
about 100 miles. A quick stop on Marathon Key for a room and drop off our baggage, then on
to Key West for a after dark arrival. Dinner, a quick walk through Hog's Breath, Sloppy
Joe's and some people watching on Duval St. was about all my tired body could handle. We
were back to our room by 1:00 A.M. We stayed at "Hidden Harbor Motel" on
Marathon Key, 743-5376. The room costs $70 per night and was a small efficiency. They
provided us with a chain and padlock to anchor our bikes to a concrete slab near the front
office. I am not sure about competing prices on the Island, but the room was adequate and
clean.
November 25th - At first I thought it was fatigue but later figured out I was just depressed about heading back North. When coming South, I knew it was getting warmer by the mile. Now, it was just the opposite. I had also started thinking about the decision to by pass the Suwanee River area on our way down and somewhat resented that decision. As time passed though, my attitude improved, at least for this day. We traveled up the same way we came down from Alligator Alley. We rode right pass where we had exited from the Interstate and continued North on Rt. 27. While the road was straight with good surface, the terrain was rather plain for several miles. The ground did start taking on a "black" coloration that I relate to rich soil. Sugar Cane fields started popping up and we apparently were in the middle of the harvest season as tractors and trucks were busy in a lot of the fields we passed. The sweet cane smell was everywhere. We bordered along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee to Rt. 76. That put us over East and we decided to call it a night in Stuart, FL. We got a room near the Interstate in a little dump of a hotel. I passed on the first room they offered because of ants in the bed. The second room was adequate. During the night, I awoke with a strong urge to go to the bathroom. This has been a common problem ever since the Kidney Stones started rearing their ugly heads. Anyway, I quickly threw the covers back, wheeled my feet over the edge of the bed and discovered my butt was over the edge just a little too much. My rear slid off with my right leg folding underneath. My butt landed on the heel of my foot driving my toes into the floor. In a moment or two, I got up and went into the bathroom. Normally, my second toe is longer than my big toe. Not now. I had to pull it back into place with a quick tug. Next, my forth toe was laying over my little toe much like when you cross your fingers. This repair required some tape and a tug back over to the middle. The tape held my third and fourth toes together. Back to bed for a hour or so of throbbing and then up to continue our trip.
November 26th - The weatherman forecast rain and he was right. We suited up for most of the trip along Daytona Beach. It had started raining around the Port Orange Exit of I-95 and we holed up at the Amoco station for some time. Thanks to those guys that let us park in the car wash at their station. (I noted a Sportster was sitting in their mechanic bay.) Daytona was deserted. Rooms were advertised for $24.95 a night and I bet the Turkey Rod Runners had to pay over $75 for the same room. We marched on North after several photo ops. We lost a lot of time in Daytona and paid for it on up the road. As darkness started over I - 95, the Holiday travelers started to thicken. Fast,fast,fast and then slow,slow,slow. It was beginning to get nerve wrecking. Silas's bike started to get hot again so he bolted over to the media and ran a mile or two up the road to wait on us. Heavy traffic did not deter Silas. He wanted to get home even though temperatures in the mountains of N.C. were suppose to be frigid. We voted and spent the night in Hardeesville, S.C. which is near the GA. border.
November 27th - We pushed pretty hard to make the final 350 miles back. Short stops for gas barely took 15 minutes. A fast pace covered ground quickly. One leg was 115 miles without even slowing down. We came through the Gorge at a ideal 1:30 P.M. and I got home about 3:30 P.M. My injured foot throbbing a little from the cold, but in pretty good shape overall.